Automatic sheet-feeding mechanism.



F. IUI. CONRAN.-

AUTOMATIC SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3|, |917.

- lPatnf/ed Apr. 22,1919

8 SHEETS-SHEET I.

mmm@

3 wvewtoz F. lVI. CONRAN.

AUTOMATIC SHEET FEEDING MECHANISIVI.

0J. 1|l 9 1 2 2 L D.. A m D e ATL a P m M ,L C o D u H N o .u A w m DI A8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F. IVI. CONRAN.

AUTOMATIC SHEET FEEDING MECHATMSM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3l. l9l7.

Patented Apr. 22,1919.

IPSIIQQI.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

m' 9. M MM.; @P/man F. M. CONRAN.

AUTOMATIC SHEET FEEDING IVIECHANISIVI.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 3|. w11.

Fl M. CUNRAN.

AUTOMATIC SHEET FEEDING MEC-HANISM.

APPLICATION HLED 00TA :al` 1911.

193L799 Patented Apr. 22,1919.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

F. M. @UNR/IN. AUTOMATIC SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3I. 191?A LSMQQ, Patented Apr. 1919.

B SHEETS- SHEET 6.

F. M. CUNHAN.

AUTOMATIC SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31.1917. l SL 9799., Patented Apr. 22, 1919) 8SHEETS-SHEET Y.

Ewig@ F. M. CONRAN.

AUTOMATIC SHEET' FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FiLED OCT-31 19|?.

Patented Apr. 2

8SHEETS-SHEET 8.

l maan srarns Parana caricia.

FREDERICK M'. CONRAN, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 THE METALSPLATINO? COMPANY, F NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY. y.

AUTOMATIC SHEET-FEEDIN'G MECHANISM.

monaca.

Specication oi4 Letters Eatent. Picmtjl Api?. 22, 119119..

Application led October 31, 191'?. Serial No. 199,416.

Y 4To all whoa/z it may concern:

ifi

Beit known that I, FREDERICK M. CON# RAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Elizabeth, in the county of Union, State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in -AutomaticSheet-Feeding Mechanism; and -I do hereby declarek the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable, others skilled in the'art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

The present invention relates to sheet feeding mechanism and has vfor anobject the provision of a mechanism whereby sheets of material may belifted one at a time from the top of a stack of sheets and fedsuccessively therefrom. The invention further provides means forovercoming the cohesive effectfbetween the top sheet and the oneimmediately beneath, thus insuringthe complete separation of the topsheet from the next sheet in order to prevent the lower sheet from beingcarried along with the top sheet as it is being removed. rlFhis cohesiveeffect is due to several causes such; for instance, as staticelectricity, films upon the surfaces of the sheets, and suction eectbetween the sheets.

In order to bring the top sheet of the stack in proper position'to beremoved, the invention comprises feeding devices by means of which thestack of sheets is raised after each top sheet has been removed. Theinvention also comprises such a relationship of all of the moving partsof the device as to make the operations` thereof occur in propersequence, without interference with any of the other opettions and theapparatus is entirely automatic in its actions.

The mechanism may be used for a wide variety of purposes and incombination with many forms of mechanism in which the sheets are to besubsequently operated upon.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearlyfrom a detailed description of certain preferred cmbodiments thereof asillustra-ted in the ac.- companying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of one embodiment of the machine as viewed from the rightshowing the same in combination with the mechanism to which the sheetsof material are to be fed for subsequent treatment; Fig. 2is a sideelevation of the same machine as viewed from the left; Fig. 3 is anelevation of the machine; Fig. 4C is a sectional elevation along theline 1-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the machine; Fig.6 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the upper portion of theapparatus taken along the line 6 6 of Fig. 5; Figs. 7 and 8 are detailviews showing the positions occupied by certain elements of the machineat certain times during the operation; Fig. 9 is a view in section alongthe line 9-9 of Fig. 7; Fig. 10 is a sectional view showing the valve ofthe machine; Fig. 11 is a section along the line 11-11 of Fig. 10; Fig.12 is a view of the portion of the machine for placing the sheets ofmaterial in alinement; Fig. 13 is a section along the line 13-13 of Fig.5 showing the mounting of the cams of the apparatus; Figs. 14C and 15show a modiside face of each side frame and adjacent one edge of theslot is a guideway 23, the face of which is at right angles to the faceof guideway 22. Mounted to slide upon 'each side frame 21 is a bracket24 provided with rollers 25 fitting between and engaging the guideways22 .and other rollers 26 which engage the guideways 23. A cross bar 27connects the brackets together and holds them in position with theirrollers 2 6 against the guideways 23. Each bracket 1s provided withinwardly extending shelves 28 which in connection with the cros's bar 27support a table 29 which may be adJusted transversely of the machine bymeans of bolts 30. The sheets of material indicated by A arel placedupon this table.

On the rear face of each bracket 21 1s a rack bar 31 meshing withpinoins 32 mounted on stub shafts 33 and 34 mounted in bearings on theends of brackets and 36 respectively, attached to and proJecting fromthe side frames 21. Mounted on 'shaft 33 between bracket 35 and thecorresponding side frame 21 is a gear 37. A similar gear 38 is mountedon shaft 34 between the bracket 36 and correspondingside frame of themachine. The gear wheels 37 and 38 are driven by pinions 39 mounted onshaft 40 which extends across the machine and is mounted in suitablebearings in the side frames and on the left hand side of the machine isextended through a bearing on the upper `end of bracket 36. Splined onthe shaft 40 is a clutch member 41 having associated therewith anoperating lever 42. This clutch member is adapted to engage a coperatingclutch member 43 fastened to gear 44 which is loosely mounted on theshaft 40. 'llhe gear 44 engages a pinion 45 fixed to a shaft 46 mountedin bearings in the bracket `36 and the corresponding side frame 21. Alsomounted on the same shaft is a ratchet wheel 47. Loosely mounted uponthe shaft 46 between a pinion 45 and ratchet wheel 47 is an arm 48 whichcarries pawl 49y which engages the teeth of ratchet wheel 47. A holdingpawl 50 is mounted on the side frame 21 to prevent reverse rotation ofthe ratchet wheel.

The automatic feeding mechanism of the present invention is by Way ofillustration shown in combination with a machine for coating the sheetsof material. Only the forward end of the coating machine is shown in thedrawings. rl`his portion comprises a frame 5'1 in which is mounted ashaft 52 adapted to be driven by a sprocket wheel 53 and chain 54running to the other sprocket wheel, not shown, associated with thedriving mechanism of the coating machine.

Mounted upon one end of the shaft 52 is a ca m 55 adapted to engage aroller 56 on the end of an arm 457 pivoted at 58 to the frame 51 on thecoating machine. Pivoted to arm 57 and to arm 48 at 60 is a link 61. Tolimit the forward travel of arm 57 an adjusting screw 62 is mounted in abracket 63 attached to the frame of the coating machine. Arm 57 is drawnagainst the end of adjusting screw 62 by a spring 64.

For the purpose of permitting the table 29 to be'lowered in case it isdesired to 0btain access to the sheets of material, the hand wheel 65 ismounted on shaft 34 inside of frame 36. When the clutch members 41 and43 are disengaged, gear wheels 37 and 38 and the 'pinions and rack barswhich connect these gears to the sliding frame which supports the table,would be free to turn under the weight of the table and the sheetsthereon. l To prevent this action from taking place, a bra-ke shoe 66engaging the hand wheel 65 is provided. This brake shoe is pivoted tothe bracket 36 at 67 and its free upper end is by means of a link 68connected to a lever 69 pivoted at 7 0 to the extension` of the bracket.An arm 71 is attached tothe 1,soi,vee

which the clutch member 41 is operated. rlhis spring arm is rovided witha lug 74 which engages a lug 5 near the upper end of arm "69 when theclutch lever 42 is in the position to throw the clutch members intoengagement with each other. When the clutch lever is thrown so that theclutch members are disengaged, spring arm 73 will be pushed outwardly todisengage the lugs 74 and 75 and lever 6'9 will be drawn toward the arm71 by a spring 76 connecting the upper end of the lever and the upperend of this arm. Movement of lever 69 will be communicated through link68 to the brake shoe 66, thus causing the latter to bear firmly againstthe hand wheel `65 and prevent any rotation of the gears-associated withthis hand wheel, and hence will prevent any downward movement of thetable upon which the sheets are supported. Whenever the clutch leverI isthrown to connect the clutch members together, the brake is re leased byrestoring the lever 69 to its position in engagement with the lugs 74 onthe spring arm 73.

The apparatus-thus far described is intended for elevating the'table129', upon which the sheets of material are carried, by a step by stepmechanism to cause the top of the pile to be brought into position to beremoved from the pile. rl`he shaft 52 is continuously driven from thecoating machine and the cam 55 engages the roller 56 on the end of arm57 once during each revolution of shaft 52. The movement imparted to arm57 will, through the link 61, cause a corresponding movement of the arm48, and the pawl 49, mounted thereon, will engage the ratchet wheel 47to rotate the same step by step. This movement of the ratchet wheel willbe communicated through shaft 46 and pinion 45 to gear wheel 44, butunless the clutch members 41 and 43 are in engagement the rotation ofgear -wheel 44 will have no effect in moving the table on which theysheets are supported. If, however, the clutch members 41 and 43 aredrawn into engagement by means of hand lever 42, the step by stepAmovement of gear wheel 44 will be communicated to the shaft 40, and thelatter will, through the pinions 39, cause the corresponding step bystep movement of the gear wheels 37 and 38 which will be imparted to thepinions 32 mounted upon the same stub shafts 33 and 34 as are t-hesegear wheels. The result will be that the rack bars 31 which engage thepinions 32 will be given a step by stepmovement upward to gradually liftthe table 29 upon which the sheets of material are placed. rlhemagnitude of each successive lifting movement of the table may becontrolled by the adjusting screw 62 which determines the movementimparted to the ratchet wheel 47 upon each oscillatlon of the arm 57.The movement imparted to the ratchet 47 is, through the properproportioning of the gears and plnions of the apparatus, translated intothe correct vertical movement of the sheet holding table to cause thelatter to advance a distance just suiiicient to bring successive sheetsinto position to be removed. This distance will correspond to thethickness of the sheets which are to be removed from the stack plus suchadditional movement as may be required to make up for the fact that thesheets may be slightly separated due to impurities or rust upon theirsurface. By proper calibration of the adjusting screw 62, the liftingaction of the apparatus may be accurately adjusted to suit theparticular sheets that are being removed.

The mechanism for removing the sheets one at a time from the top of thestack of sheets will now be described. Sha-ft 52 is provided with asprocket wheel 77 over which passes a sprocket chain 78 for driving asprocket whee 79 connected to a shaft 80 mounted in bearings at the topof side frames 21. Mounted on shaft 80 are two sets of sprocket wheels81, each pair of sprocket wheels being connected by a sleeve 82. A Xedlshaft 83 is mounted at the top of the side fra-mes 21 and this shaftcarries sprocket wheels 84 which are driven by chains 85 passing oversprocket wheels 81 lon shaft 80. Between each pair of sprocket chainsare sheet-advancing members 86, there |being two of thesesheet-advancing members connected to each pair of sprocket chains.

A fixed shaft 87 is mounted between the side frames 21 and upon thisshaft are arms 88 carrying on their outer ends idler sprocket wheels 89.Arms 88 may be retained in any position of adjustment by means of setscrews 90. Mounted upon the shaft 87 is an arm 91 connected to the upperend of which at 92 i-s an arm 93. A lug 94 is pivotally attached to thearm 93 and through this lug passes a screw 95 adapted to be turned lby ahand wheel 96. The lower end of the screw engages the upper end of ahousing 97. A link 98 is pivoted to the housing 97 at 99 and at 100 ispivoted to an arm 101 connected to the shaft 87. A lever 102 is pivotedat 103 between the sides of the .housing 97 and the lower end of thislever is bifurcated as at 104 to engage a pin 105 carried by the upperend of a member 106 and retained in place in slots 107 in the sides ofthe housing. The lower end of each the arm 114 is a piston 115 whichcontrols the air supply for nozzle 116 through a pipe 117. The air issupplied to the valve member by a pipe 118 having a controlling valve119. The piston 115 which controls the air supply is provided with aport 120 which, when in the position shown in lig. 6, provides acommunication between pipes 117 and 118. Also pivoted on arm 113 is asecond-arm 121 which operates a piston 122 adapted to control through apipe 123 a suction cup 124., rlhe valve member 111 has a port 125opening into a pipe 126 which leads to a'` vacuum pump and has acontrolling valve 127. The other end of port 125 opens beneath thepiston 122 and when the piston is elevated permits communication betweenpipes 123 and 126. Piston 122 is provided with a port 128 opening intothe atmosphere near the top of the piston, and adapted when the pistonis in its depressed position to communicate with the pipe 123 to permitalr to enter this pipe and hence relieve the vacuum in the suction cup124. rl["he suction cup 124 is mounted on member 106 by means of anadjusting block 129 by which the position of the cup with relation tothe member 106 may be determined.

The innermost sprocket wheels 84 of each pair are connected to a sleeve130, as shown most clearly in Fig. 13. 'llhis sleeve carries 132 on theend-of arm 93. Cam 133 engages roller 134 mounted on the end of lever102, as shown most clearly in Figs. 7 and 8. Cam 135 engages lthe outerend of arm 121 which controls the piston 122 of the valve mechanism,spring 121 being provided to hold the arm 121 against the cam. @am 136engages the outer end of arm 114 which controls the piston 115 of thevalve mechanlsm, and a spring 114 holds the end of the arm against thecam.

Cams 137 engage rollers 138 mounted on the ends of arms 139 on each sideof the machine. As shown at the bottom of Fig. 1 2, the arm 139 on oneside of the machine 1s connected to the upper end of a shaft 140supported in a bearing 141 on a. bracket 'eX- tending inwardly from thecorrespondmg side frame 21. Connected to the bottom of shaft 140 is anarm 142 having at its free end a roller 143 adapted to engage andallnethe sheets of material. The arm 139 is eX- tended beyond the shaft 140to form a pr0- jection 144 which is normally .held agalnst ythe end ofan adjusting screw 145 mounted in a lug 146 on the bracket whichsupports bearing 141, the projection being held against this screw by aspring 147 connected between arm 142 andthe side fra-me. On the otherside ofthe machine the corresponding arm 139 is mounted loosely near theupper end of the shaft 140 but the armA 142 carrying a roller 143 isfixed upon the four cams, of which cam 131 engages a roller lower end ofthe shaft precisely as at the other side of the machine. The shaft 140iS mounted in a Ibearing upon a bracket -141 extending inwardly from theside frame and this bracket is provided with a lug 146 with-i ,side ofthe machine a lug 144 carries an adjusting screw 152 adapted to bearagainst a face on lug 149. T here is thus provided between the arms 139and 142 on one side of 'the machine a yielding connection for thepurpose of permitting a slight movement between these arms in case thereis any variation in the Width of the sheet which is held between theroller 143 on this side of the machine and the roller 143 on the otherside of the machine, the latter roller being rigidly connected throughthe arms 142 and 139 to the roller which engages thecorresponding camface.

Between each pair of sprocket wheels 84 there is fixed to the shaft 83 aspider 153, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4. These spidersserve assupports for guideways 154 which are also supported by spiders 155attached to shaft 87. These guideways are carried about the shaft 80 andbeneath this shaft are formed with a depression 156. These guideways areengaged by rollers 157 mounted on the ends of sheet-advancing members 86which, as previously described, are carried between each pair ofsprocket chains 85. To prevent these chains from sagging during theirtravel beneath the4 sprocket Wheels, guides 158 are suspended fromU-shaped brackets 159 depending from the lower portion of each guideway154. The rollers 157 of the sheet-advancing members are held against theguideways 154 by means of springs 160 coiled about the shaft upon whichthe sheet-advancing members are supported between the two sprocketchains, one end of the spring being fastened to the arm 161 whichcarries the roller 157 and the other end being fastened to the arm 162which carries the finger portion of the sheet-.advancing member 86,thereby forming a yielding connection between the two parts of thismember.

For the purpose of preventing more than one sheet being removed at atime, there is provided a stop mechanism which positively engages theother sheets. This mechanism appears most clearly in Fig.4 where it isshown attached to the end ofthe coating machine to which the sheets areto be fed. A cam163 is mounted upon shaft 52 and engages an L-shaped arm164 supported in a bracket 165 depending from the apron 166 which leadsto the rollers 167 of the coating machine. Mounted in an inclined guide165 in the bracket 165 is a rod 168 connected at its lower end by a pin169 to a'slot 170 at the end of the L-shaped arm 164. A spring.

171 is attached at on'e end to the bracket as at 172, and its lower endis connected to the removed, and that the shaft 52 is being driven fromthe driving mechanism of the coating machine, the sprocket chain 78will,

through the sprocket wheel 79, cause the shaft 80 to be continuouslyrotated. rllhe latter shaft will, through the sprocket wheels 81 andchains 85, cause rotation of the sprocket wheels 84- upon the shaft 83.At the beginning of the lifting operation, the

cam 132, which is mounted upon the sleeve l 130, occupies a positionsubstantially as shown in Fig. 7, so that the'suction member 124 isdepressed until it engages the upper face of the topmost sheet at apoint near the center of the rear edge of the sheet. At this time thecam 135 on the sleeve'130 occupies such a position that arm 121 hasllfted the piston 122 of the valve mechanism into the position shown inFig. 11, thus permitting communication between the plpe 123 leading tothe suction member 124 and the f pipe 126 leading to the vacuum pump.Spring 121 holds arm 121 against the face of the cam and assists indrawing this arm down when it passes off of the raised portion of thecam. The point at which the suction member 124 enga-ges the upper. sheetis determined by using different widths of adjusting block 129. Also, asappears most clearly7 from Fig. 7 the cam 133 is in such a posi; tionwith respect to the roller 134 on arm 102 that the latter permits themember 106 on which the suction member is supported to occupy such aposition that the' bottom face of' the suction member is parallel to theface of the sheet. Further rotation of the cam 133 as the sleeve 130upon which 1t 1s ilo mounted is rotated will cause the depression in thecam to come into position to permit the roller 134 to be drawn into thisdepression by means of a spring 174 which is connected to the lower endof lever 102 at one end and at theother end to a stud projectingfrom'link 98' near the pivot 100'. The movement thus imparted to lever 102will through .the pin and slot connection at the lower end of this leverswing. or tilt the memp ber 106 which carries the suction member intothe position shown in Fig. 8, thus raising the suction member slightlyand bending the sheet, as shown most clearly in this figure. Afterv thesuction member has gripped the edge of the sheet and the preliminarybending has been produced, the cam 131 will through the roller 132 onthe end of arm 93 gradually lift this arm into the position shown inFig. 6, carrying with it the suction member which throughout. this stageof the operation is gripping the upper face of the sheet. i

At this time in the operation of the apparatus, the cam 136, whichcontrols the valve arm 114, has come into such a position as to permitthis arm' to drop underits own weight and the effect of spring 114', tocarry the piston operated thereby into such a position thatcommunication is established between the compressed air pipe 118 and thepipe 117 which leads to the nozzle 116 to direct a blast of airunderneath the lifted top sheet. This air blast will tend to separatethis sheet from the one immediately beneath, and after separating thetwo sheets, will tend to support the upper sheet upon the air cushionwhich is thus produced between the sheets. At about the same time thatthe air blast is directed under the sheet one of the sheet-advancingmembers 86 has come into position beneath the rear edge of the sheet, asshown in Fig. 6. An instant later ,the cam 135 upon which the arm 121 ofthe suction valve is supported has come into such a position' that itscutaway portion permits this arm to suddenly drop, thus cutting off the'suction to the suction member and putting the port 128 in the piston122 into communication with the pipe 123 leading to the suction member.This is for the vpurpose of re-l storing'the latmospheric pressure tothe interior .of the suction member to prevent it from retaining thesheet by any 1 vacuum which might be left after the suction has beencuto. After the. top sheet has been raised into the position shown in Fig.6, theV cams 137 connected to the outer sprocket wheels 84 will havecome into such a position as to cause the arms 139 and the arms 142,y

actuated thereby, to be moved so that the rollers 143 engage the sideedges of the sheet, thus preventing the latter from being displacedsidewise'as itis being removed from the top of the pile, and furtherinsuring that it is given the proper alinement to be `carried into thecoating machine. The

`continued travel of the sprocket chains 85 will carry thesheet-advancing members and hence the sheet which is engaged thereby offof the top of the stack ofsheets,- 4and after the sheethas traveled a`short distance,the cam 135 ,which controls valve arm 114,` will havecome inIto such a position as to cause the valve piston'115 to out onthe supply of compressed air iii?.

to the nozzle 116-. At about the same time the cam 163 on shaft 52 o-fthe coating machine will have passed out of engagement with the end ofcthe L-shaped arm 164, thus permittmg the spring 171 to draw the rod 170into such a position that `the stop 17 3 will engage the front edge of afevsQf the sheets immediately below the top sheetwand thus obviate anytendency of these othei\sheets to be carried along by the top sheet.Before the stop 173has come into its position against the forward edgeof the sheets, the upper sheet will have been carried forward asufficient distance to prevent it from beingengaged by this stop which,if it engages the upper sheet at all, will engage it upon the under faceand not interfere with its forward travel. After the top sheet has beenpushed forward by the sheetadvancingA member until it occupiessubstantially the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 6, theforward edge of the sheet will be engaged by the rollers 167 of thecoating machine, thus completing the removal of the sheet from the topof the stack. At the same time roller 157 on the sheet-advancing member86 will pass into depression 156 of guideway 154, thus causing thismember to bevthrownk out of engagement with the sheet. Shortlythereafter, the cam 55 on shaft 52 will come into engagement with theroller 56 on the end of arm 57, thus gradually moving this arm and withit the link '61 which connects the arm to the pawl 49 which turnsratchet wheel 47. As previously de- 100 scribed, the movement impartedto the ratchet wheel 47 will be just sufficient when transmitted throughthe train of gears 45,

44, 39, 38, 32 and rack bar 31, to elevate the table the right amount tobring the stack of 105 sheets into such a position that the upper onewill be engaged by the suction member, and the operation of removing thesheets will be then repeated.

Figs. 14 and 15 illustrate a modification 110 of the invention in whichthe sheets are adapted to be gripped by electromagnetic means instead ofthe pneumatic means of the other figures. A shaft 200 is mounted betweenthe side frames of the apparatus and 115 is adapted to be driven by thesprocket chain running to the coating machine or other driving sourceprecisely as shown 1n the former figures. Upon the shaft 200 is a pairof sprocket wheels 201' over which p-ass 120 sprocket chains 202traveling over sprocket wheels 203 on a fixed shaft 204 at the otherside of the side frames. The sprocket chains 202 carry sheet advancingmembers 205 similar to the corresponding members 125 of the othermodification. These sheet-advancing members engageon guideway206 and thesprocket chain is .supported on the guide 207 which is carried bybrackets 208 depending from the guideway 206.

Loosely mounted upon shaft 200 is an arm 209 and a second arm 210extending in the opposite direction and bifurcated at its outer ends toreceive a U-shaped bracket 211' which carries a pair of yelectromagnets212. The inner end of arm 210 is provided with a projection 213 and thearm 209 is provided with a lug 214 through which is threaded anadjusting screw 215. A xed shaft 216 is mounted between the side framesand upon which shaft is loosely mounted an arm 2117 having a bifurcatedouter end to receive a U-shaped bracket 2-18 which carries 'a pair ofelectromagnets 219. An arm 220 is loosely mounted u on a pivot 221attached to the arm 217 anc the arm 220 is provided with an extension222 at the outer end of which is an adjusting screw 223 which engagesthe upper face of armv217. A bracket 224 is adjustably mounted upon theshaft 216 by means of a set screw 225. This bracket carries a valvemechanism 226 which comprises a piston 227 provided with a port 228 bywhich communication may be estab-- lished between a pipe 229 leading toa source of compressed air and a pipe 230 leading to the nozzle 231,these features of the apparatus being substantially similar to thecorresponding parts of the modification ldescribed above. A bracket 232projects outwardly and upwardly from the valve mecha' nism and carriesat its other end an arm 233 pivoted at 234, and this arm actuates thepiston 22-7 of the valve mechanism.

Surrounding the shaft 204 and` connected at its ends to the sprocketwheels 203 is a sleeve 235, and upon one end of this sleeve adjacent thecorresponding sprocket wheel is a cam 236 which is engaged by a roller237 on the end of arm 209. A second cam 238y is also mounted upon thesleeve 235 and this cam engages the arm 233 by which the valve.vmechanism is controlled. On the other end An electric switch 241 is"mounted upon a b-racket 242 attached at its lower end to the guideway207. The contacts of the switch control the circuit of theelectromagnets 212 and 219 and for this purpose are provided with aplunger 243 adapted to be engaged by a cam 244 mounted upon thesleeve-235. As in the case of the modification rst described, a stop 245adapted to engage the forward edges of all of the sheets except the topone is provided, and this stop may be actuated by mechanism similar tothat shown in the former Afigures.

'It is intended that mechanism for progressively lifting the stack ofsheetsv after each one has been removed shall be used in connection'withthe;feeding mechanism shown in Figs. 14 and 15, and this liftingmechanism may be in all respects like that used with the formermodification of the feeding mechanism. Assuming that the stack of sheetsis in position upon the table of the apparatus, the cams 236 and 239driven by sprocket chains 202 from the shaft 200, which is driven fromthe coating machine, will come into position to lift the arm 209 andthus allow the arm 210 carrying the electromagnets 212 to be droppeduntil the pole pieces of these magnets engage the upper face of the topsheet. At the same time the cam 239 will have come into such a positionthat the arm 220 will be lowered, thus allowing the arm 217 and theelectromagnet 219 carried thereby to drop into engagement with the faceof the top sheet at the other end of the sheet. Also, at the same time,the cam 244 has actuated the plunger 243 of the switch 241 to cause thelatter to establish the circuit of all of the electromagnets. Theenergized magnets now take hold of the top sheet and as the sleeve 235continues its rotation the arm 209 will be lowered under the action ofspring 246 and tromagnets 219 and the rear edge of the sheet which isattracted to the magnets. As the electromagnets 219 approach theposition shown in Fig. 14, a pair of the sheetadvancing members 205 havecome into position to engage the rear edge of the sheet. After this hasoccurred, the cam 244 has come into such a position as topermit theswitch plunger 243 to move outwardly toy open the switch contacts, itbeing understood that this plunger is provided with a spring (not shown)for* causing a quick break of the contacts as soon as the upper face ofthe camv 244 has passed out of engagement with the switch plunger. 1fthe magnets are not denergized until `after the sheet-advancing membershave begun to give the sheet a forward movement, the magnets will swingabout the pivots on which they are suspended from their supporting.

arms, but the mechanism should preferably be so arranged that thesemagnets will be denergized at 'substantially the instant that thesheet-advancing members begin to produce a forward travel of the sheet.At

about the time that these members engage the rear edge of the sheet, thecam 238 has come into sucha position that it actuates the arm 233 toestablish communication from the compressed air pipe 229 tg the pipe 230leading to the nozzle 231, thus permitting a blast of air to be directedagainst the atome@ lower face of the top sheet which tends to 245 shouldbe arranged to come into engagement with the edges of the other sheetsjust after the top sheet `has taken its forward travel.

I claim :v

1. In sheet feeding'mechanism, the combination of means for bending theentire rear edge portion of the topmost sheet of a stack of sheets above`the plane of the sheet, means for lifting said first-named means to velevate the bent rear edge of the topmost sheet, together with theadjacent portions of the sheet, abo-ve the underlying sheet, means Aforsupplyinga sepa-rating fluid-beneath the elevated part of the topmostsheet,

j means engaging the rear edge of the topmost sheet when Ain elevatedposition to carry the sheet off of the top of the stack of sheets, andmeans for operating the bending means, the lifting means, the iuidmeans, and the carrying means in timed relation to each other.

2. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a suction'memberadapted to engage the rear edge of the topmost sheet of a stack ofsheets, means for actuating said suction member to produce a preliminarybending of the rear edge of the topmost sheet and for thereafter liftingthe rear part of said sheet, means for supplying atsepa.- ratingfluidbeneath the lifted part of the topmost sheet, means engaging therear edge of the topmost sheet when in lifted position tocarry the sheetoff of the top ofthe stack of sheets and means for operating all of saidmeans in timed relation.

3. In sheet feeding mechanism, 'the' combination of a supporting member,amember. pivotally mounted on the supporting member and'adapted toengage the upper face of the topmost sheet of a. stack of sheets nearthe rear edge thereof, means on said supporting member for tilting saidsheet-engaging member, means independent of said supporting member forcontrolling said tilting means, means independentof said support-- ingmember but operatively connected thereto for raising the. rear part ofthe topmost t sheet'w'hen said sheet-engagingm-ember is in engagementwith the sheet, a plurality of continuous traveling members,sheet-advancing members associated 'with said traveling members andadapted to be brought into engagement with the lifted rear edge Y `ofthe topmost sheet to carry said sheet forrwardlyo of the top of thestack of sheets,

and means for-"supplying fluid beneath the lifted rear edge vof thetopmost sheet. to aid in separating and removing the sheet.

, faee of the topmost sheet of a stack of sheets 4:. lin sheet feedingmechanism, the combination of a supporting member, a member pivotallymounted on the supporting member and'ad'apted to engage the upper near'the rear edge thereof, means for controlling said sheet engaging means,means for lifting the supporting member to raise the rear edge of thetopmost sheet when said sheet engaging means is in engagement with 7 5the sheet,'a plurality of continuous traveling members, sheet-'advancinglmembers associated with said traveling members and adapted to bebrought into engagement with the lifted rear edge ofthe topmost sheet tocarry said sheet forwardly off of the top of the stack of sheets, meansfor sup lying fluid beneath the lifted rear edge of t e topmost sheet toaid in separating and removing the` sheet, and means for swinging saidsheetadvancing members out of engagement with the rear edge of thetopmost sheet when said sheet has been partly removed.

5. lin sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a supporting member,amember pivotally mounted on the supporting member and adapted to engagethe upper face of the topmost sheet of a stack of sheets near the rearedge thereof, means on said sup-I porting member for tilting saidsheet-engaging member, means independent of said supporting member forcontrolling said tilting means, and-means independent of said sup--porting member but operatively connected ed to engage the upper face ofthe topmost sheet of a stack of sheets near the rear edge thereof,lmeans for tilting the suction memher about an axis lying immediatelyabove the topmost sheet, slightly in advance'of the" rear edge thereof,to produce a preliminary ,110 bending of the rear edge portion of thesheet, means for lifting the suction member to elevate the bentrear'edge of the topmost sheet, together with the adjacent portions ofthe' sheet, 'above the underlying sheet, means' 115 for supplying ablast of air between the lifted part of the topmost sheet, means forcontrolling the air supply means, means for engaging the rear edge ofthe topmost sheet after it has been lifted, means for` moving thesheet-engaging means, and means associated with said shaft for operatingthe tilt- Ving means, the lifting means, the controlling means, and themoving means in timed rea valve for controlling the operation of the lpart of said sheet, means for supplying fluid beneath the lifted part ofthe topmost sheet, a valve for controlling the fluid supplying means andmeans for opera-ting both of said valves and said suction memberoperating means in timed relation.

8. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a shaft, a suctionmember adapted to engage the upper face of the topmost sheet of a stackof sheets near the rear edge thereof, a cam on the shaft for operatingthe suction member. to produce a preliminary bending of the rear edge ofthe top-most sheet, a second cam on the shaft for raising the suctionmember to lift therear part of the topmost sheet, a valve forcontrolling the suction member, a cam on the shaft for actuating thelvalve, means for supplying fluid beneaththe lifted rear pant of the top-`most sheet, a valve for controlling said fluidsupplying means, a cam.on the shaft for operating the last named valve, and means for drivingsaid shaft to cause said cams to operate their respective mechanisms intimed relation to each other.

9. ln sheet feeding mechanism, the coinbination of a shaft, means forinitially separating the entire rear edge portion of the topmost sheetfrom the underlying sheet, means for thereafter lifting said first-namedmeans to elevate the 'entire rear portion of the topmost sheet, meansfor supplying fluid beneath the lifted rear portion of the topmostsheet, means for controlling the flu-id supplying means, nieans'for4engaging the rear edge of the topmost sheet to remove it from the stackof sheets, and means associated with the shaft for actuating theseparating means, the lifting means, the controlling means, and thesheet engaging means in timed relation to each other.

.10..InJ sheet feeding mechanism, thecombin-ation of means for engagingthe upper face of the topmost sheet'of a stack of sheets near the rearedge thereof, means for tilting said engaging means to bend the entirerear edge portion ofthe topmost sheet above the plane of the sheet,means for thereafter lifting the `er'igaging means to lift the entirerear portion of the topmost sheet, sheet 'advancing means for enga-gingthe rearedge of the topmost sheet after it has been lifted,

and means for operating the tilting means, the lifting means and thesheet advancing means in time relation to each other.

11. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of means forlifting therear partl of the topmost sheet of a stack of sheets, vmeans forsupplying fluid beneath the lifted rear part of thev topmost. sheet,means adaptled to engage the lifted rear part of the topl stack ofsheets, an inclined guide adjacent the forward end of the stack ofsheets,A stop mechanism slidably mounted in the guide, means operativelyconnected to said shaft for operating 'said lifting means, meansoperatively connected` toy said shaft for causing the sheet-advancingmeans to engage the rear edge of the topmost sheet after the same hasbeen raised, and means operatively connected to said shaft for bringingthe upper end of the stop mechanism into engagement With the front edgesof sheets lying beneath the topmost vsheet after the forward movement ofsaid sheet has begun.

13. The method of removing sheets successively from the top of a stackof sheets which consists in applying a suction edect to the uppersurface of the topmost sheet near its rear edge, producing by thesuction effect a preliminary bending of the rear edge Y of the topmostsheet, raising the rear part of the topmost sheet by means of thesuction effect, pushing the topmost sheet forwardly by a force appliedagainst thefrear edge of the sheet, cutting olf the suction effect whenthe forward movement of said sheet begins, and supplying fluid beneaththe. liftedrear part of the topmost sheet to aid in separating the saidsheet from the adJacent sheet. Y

14. In sheet feeding mechanism, the comi bination of means for liftingthe rear edge of the topmost sheet of a stack of sheets,

.means for supplying fluid beneath the lifted -rear edge of the topfmostsheet, means adapted to engage the lifted rear edge of the topmost sheetto remove the sheet fromv off of the stack of sheets, movable stopmechanism adapted to be brought into engagement with the ,forward edgesof sheets lying beneath the topmost sheet while said topmost sheet isbeingremoved and means for actuating said lifting means, said fluidsupplyV means, said sheet removing iba means and said stop mechanismintimed relation.

15. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of an arm, a supportingmember pivotally attached to the arm, a suction mem? ber pivotallymounted 'at the lower end of the supporting member and adapted toengagethe upper face of the topmost sheet of a stack of sheets near the rearedge thereof, a valve for controlling the suction member,

neem/ee means mounted on the supporting member for tilting said suctionmember to bend the rear edge of the topmost sheet, means independent ofsaid supporting member tor controlling said tilting means, meansindependent or thesupporting member for lifting the arm.A with thesupporting member and suction member to raise the rear part or thetopmost sheet, and means for operating said valve, said means forcontrolling the tilting means and said arm-lifting means in timedrelation to each other.

16. lln sheet eedin mechanism, the combination of a supporting member, asuction member pivotally mounted at the lower end of the supportingmember and adapted to engage the upper face of the topmost sheet of astack of sheets, a valve for controlling the 'suction member, means forlifting the supporting member to raise the rear edge or the topmostsheet wheny the suction member is in engagement therewith, a pluralityof sprocket wheels, sprocket chains passing over said wheels,sheet-advancing members pivotally attached to the sprocket chains andadapted t0 be brought into engagement with the lifted rear edge or' thetopmost sheet to carry said sheet forwardly, guiding members 'coperatingwith one end of each sheetladvancing members to be swung advancingmember and provided with depressed portions adapted to cause thesheetout of' engagement with the topmost sheet after the latter has beenpartly removed from the top or the stack oit sheets, means for drivingthe sprocket wheels and means associated with y said driving means forcontrolling in timed relation said valve and said means for liliting thesupporting member.

17. ln sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a shaft, an arm, adepending member adjustably attached to the arm, a suction memberpivotally mounted on the lower end of the depending member and adaptedto engage the topmost sheet ofl a stack of sheets near its rear edge, alever on the depending member operatively connectedto the suctionmember, a cam on the shalt engaging the lever for tilting the suctionmember to produce a preliminary bending of the rear edge of the sheet,and a sec ond cam on the shaft for lifting the arm and the depending andsuction members to raise the rear portion of the sheet after thepreliminary bending has been edected.

lln testimony whereof l acix my signature.

lFRlEDlERlCK M. CUNRAN.

lill

